On September 28, the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculty (APSCUF) will be hosting a rally in Harrisburg to push for a fifteen percent increase in higher education budget after two years of flat funding.
Two members of the PA Senate will speak during the rally. Sen. Lindsey Williams (D) from District 38-Allegheny County, and Sen. Vincent Hughes (D) District 7-Philadelphia and Montgomery County.
Additionally, students, faculty and staff will attend from all corners of the state in hopes of movement towards a budget increase.
Professor Patrick McGinty, Honors College assistant director, has been helping to plan Slippery Rock’s attendance at the rally.
“[The flat funding] is starting to show up more on campus,” said McGinty. “Whether it be higher tuition and fees, or courses and degrees getting cut back, a lot of the time it falls on the students.”
According to APSCUF’s website, “For years, U.S. News and World Report has ranked Pennsylvania 50th in higher education — not for quality but for cost and student debt.”
Alongside pushing for a budget increase, a Pennsylvania Promise Award is also in the works for helping fund higher education for students.
Since June of 2018, legislatures and activists alike have pushed for a similar promise award to that of thirty other states.
The newly-proposed PA Promise Award would pay tuition and fees, for qualifying students whose family income is under $250,000, to attend any community college, state-owned or related institution, technical colleges and private colleges.
“Now is the time to invest in public higher education and young people’s futures,” continued McGinty.
Additionally, on Thursday, Sept. 24, members of APSCUF’s mobilization committee will have an information booth tabling for the PA Promise Award in the quad during common hour.
Mary Houk, a senior environmental policy major, has been spreading the word on campus and pushing people to attend the rally.
“I don’t think any student should have to sacrifice their health, sleep or time in school just to afford to be there. This is about every student deserving a real shot at an education without decades of debt attached to it,” said Houk. “I want future students to have opportunities that are not determined by whether they can afford to take them.”
If individuals would like to to participate they can RSVP at https://www.apscuf.org/Sept28rally/.
